Yarn-changing mechanism for knitting-machines.



YARN

B. W. SCOTT. CHANGING MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION man JULY 24.1914.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

1 EOBEBH. W. SCOTT, F BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOB T0 SCOTT & W 11311531 8,

ZNUOBPUEATED, 0F CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A. CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

rann-cnnnomc MECHANISM FOR HITTING-MACHINES.

Specification of. Letterslatent.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

a lication flied July 24, 1914. Serial no. ceases.

i i To all whom it may concern: 7 Be it known that I, RoBER'r WHSoo'r'r, a I citizen of the United States, and ,resident of- Boston, in the county of Sufiolh and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Yarn-Changing Mechanism for Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to mechanism for jg changing the yarn in a lmitting machine and especially to devices of this nature capable of relatively frequent actuation to knit split foot, sectionally spliced, and other forms of fabric by yarn changes occurring in succes- 5 sive courses at the same needle or needles.

, In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a vertical section showing theneedles, the

Q yarn guides to be specially actuated, and the .devices for actuating them; Fig. 2 is a plan flgo view of the actuating cam for said devices; Fi 3 and 4: are details showing said yarn guides in two different positions; Fig. 5 is 'a front elevation partly in section.

I have illustrated my devices as applied to a type of yarn feeding device for knitting machines described andclaimed in my application No. 845,844 filed June 18, 1914:, but it will be evident that my present devices may be applied to other forms of knitting machines. In my said application I dis closed-a yarn changing device comprising a. series of yarn guide levers pivoted above and outside of the circle of needles of a circular machine, and a series of thrust barsfor independently lifting and lowering said yarn guide levers to change their yarns, the machine comprising a pattern surface in contact with the lower ends of said bars. By this device yarn changes can be made only so frequently as it is desirable to move the pattern surface.

My present device providesmeans for yarn changes occurring at a greater frequency,

I for instancea plurality of times during each of a number of successive'revolutions of the rotary element 'of'the knitting head.

The machine improved comprises a rotary needle carrier, and a relatively fixed cam carrier, but it will be understood that my devices may be adapted without substantial change to a machine in which the needle carrier is relatively stationary, and in which the needle act fiating and yarn feeding devices are movable.

- In the accompanying drawings, the nee" dlecylinder 260 and the attached web-holder bed 295 rotate with respect to the yarn feeding means shown in Fig. 1. Said web: holder bed 295 is provided .witha cam 296, shown in Fig. 2, having at the desired frequency, as shown at opposite points, slopes connecting low parts a and high parts 6. Said slopes may as shown comprise an intermediate ievel c.

The thrust bar 460 occupies a slot in the comb 451 attached to a stud 450 fast to the frame of the machine, the upper end of. said. I bar being guided by a comb 4632, upon which a leaf-spring 3 is attached to hold said bar" 460 normally toward the needle cylinder. Said thrust bar 460 has lateral freedom away from the axis of the machine in opposition to said spring 3 at-the comb 462, as illus trated in Fig. 1. The arrangement is such that the bar 460, which carries a lug d will, when it is in a lower adjusted position be' actuated by the cam 296 reacting with said lug d. The lower adjusted position for said .bar is determined by an eccentric limit stop 448 taking against the upper'face of "the o comb 451, the bar 460 when active vibrating 8 upon the stop 448 as a center. Said bar 460 codperates with two yarn guides F .F one of which may be provided With'a yarn suitable for one part of the article and another with a yarn suitable for another part of the article such as the instep and sole of the stocking respectively. I I

A rigid stud 9 projects horizontally from one face of the upper end of thebar 4.60 into contact with cam slopes 5 and 6 in each of said yarn guides F F -respectively. The cam slot 5 in the guide F is provided with a portion 7 at'such an angle to the body of the yarn guide that when said yarn guide is at rest in itslower position for operation at the throat plate 559 near the heads of and outside of the needles, the said portion 7 is in line with the movement of the stud 9 under actuation of the bar 460 by the cam 296.

The slot 6 is provided with a similar portion 8, which, however, is oppositely disposed, so that the stud 9 moves through saidportion 8 without actuating its yarn guide on a stroke in the opposite direction from "that taking it through the portion 7 in the yarn gulde the yarn guide F on a stroke of the bar 460 away from the needle cylinder and the other for lifting the yarn guide F on a stroke of the bar 460 toward the needle cylinder.' When'the stud-g is in the middle of its arc of movement as illustrated in Fig 3 both yarn guides will be in their lower active position, 1

The construction is obviously such that the bodily elevation of the bar 460 will remove both yarn guides simultaneously to the'dotted line position of Fig. 1. This is a position for inaction secured when a cam.

502 on the cam drum 120 is beneath said bar Upon said cam running from under said bars the lug 12 will be positioned in the plane of the cam 296, and both guides F F will be simultaneously brought to the lower position, but the action of the spring 8'now causes the lug d to follow the cam 296. It the cam 502 runs from under the end of its bar during the passage of the low part a of the cam 296, guide F remains in action and guide F is thrown out of action, as

illustrated in Fig. 3.

If the guide F carries a white yarn and the low part of the cam 296 is associated with the short butt needles n as indicated in Fig. 2, it will be obvious that the White yarn is fed during the passage of the short butts and that upon the passage by the lu d to the high part b of cam 296, the blac yarn is fed to the long butt needles n.

In order to secure the overlapping of the .yarns upon a few needles at the point of exchange, the intermediate level a of the earn 296 holds the bar 460 in the neutral position illustrated in Fig. 4: at each exchange. Thus if the guide F has been in work and the guide F is dropped into work by the first half of the movement of the bar 460, the guide F will not be re-- moved until the remaining half of the movement of the bar 460 is given.

The bar 460 and the stud 9 form together an actuator common to the two yarn'guides F F, the cam 296 having the level 0 constituting means for moving said actuator to render said guides alternately active and inactive, and for holding said guides in an actiye position during passage of lug d I by siiid level 0. The extent of level 0 will precede movement in that direction of guide Fibula the precedence of movement in the same direction alternates from one guide to the other guide. i

What I claim is:

1. A knitting machine having a plurality of movable yarn guides, and a single actu ator therefor movable in one dimension to position said yarnguides for operation or to I hold them inoperative, said actuator being yarn guides are positioned for operation to then render one of said yarn guides oper ative and another inoperative, and to exchange the respective positions of said guides.

2. A knitting machine having a yarn changingdevice comprising a plurality of movable yarn guides, in combination with a single actuator common to and in contact with said yarn guides, and means acting on said actuator to move said guides together from a position for action to a position of inaction, and means coacting with said. ac tuator to move it when in position for the 'movable in another dimension when the I action of said guide to then render said guide alternately active'and inactive.

3. In a knitting machine, a pair of yarn changing yarn guides, one of said yarn guides having a cam slot with an active portion and idle portion, the other yarn guide having a similar slot with similar portions oppositely disposed, a common actuator taking into said slots and means for successively positioning said actuator in one end of said slots, in the middle of said slots, and in the other end of said slots.

4. In a knitting machine, movable yarn guides, an actuator therefor and means carried by said yarn guides for positioning them together in active and inactive positions corresponding to the difi'erent positions of said actuator, in combination with means for moving said actuator from a position in which one of said yarn guides is active to a neutral position in which both of said guides are active, and thence to a position in which the other of said guides is active.

5., In a knitting machine, a thrust bar, a lug on said bar and means for determining the position of said bar and said lug in one direction, in combination with a cam for contact with'said lug when in one position to move said bar, a plurality of yarn guides and means carried by said bar for actuating eachof said yarn guides uponmovement of said bar.

6. In a knitting machine, needles, a thrust bar, a lug on said bar and pattern means for determining the position of said bar and said lug in one direction, in combination with a cam moving with said needles for contact with said lug when in one posi tion to move said bar, a plurality of yarn 130 gukies, and means carried by said bar engaging each of said yarn guides or actuating them upon movement of said bar.

7. In n circular knitting machine, aneedie carrier and. n cam carrier and means for rotating one oi said earners, a pair of yarn guides, each of which is capable of actuation in hecome active or inactive, and means to exchange the active and inactive condition of seiei respective yarn guides comprising a single cam attached tr one of said carriers, and a, single vibrating actuator connected to both yarn guides adapted to be vibrated. by said cam.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my 15 name to this specification in the presencenofr two subscribing witnesses.

- ROBERT W. SCOTT.

Witnesses: I

MARY F. GRIFFIN, Mmo'r G. CRozmR. 

